[sicophiliac]

Too bad the economic stimulus package did not address this issue, 150 billion could have gone a long way in upgrading and maintaining our electrical grid.

[HEADER_RACK]

All those electric cars!! They will be contributing to the demise of civilization!! Let's hear it for the cornies!!

[roccman]

Yep - best get your wind generators up and panels bolted down.. Its gonna be a wild ride ahead of us.

[lawnchair]

20 years of, averaging 2.2% annual growth in demand will do that to you. Double the population growth. 55% more power drawn than in 1988. Added demand about the size of a Missouri or a New Jersey every year.

[Homesteader]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Hogan', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('HEADER_RACK', 'A')ll those electric cars!! They will be contributing to the demise of civilization!! Let's hear it for the cornies!!

[patience]

The son of our local electrical co-op board member told me to expect KWHR price to double in a couple years, due to new plant construction. If we get a carbon tax, Indiana coal-generated power will be costly indeed. Thus my solar system, and lots of usage cutbacks.

[frankthetank]

What about those nuke plants? The McCain Nuke Initiative? Have they started building those yet? How many are completed?

[SILENTTODD]

I heard Edward Teller tell me in 1966 we were going to have fusion by 1975. What happened!?

[lawnchair]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'W')hat about those nuke plants? The McCain Nuke Initiative? Have they started building those yet? How many are completed?

[startswithearthquakes]

oh nooozz!!!1 Doom DOO00M DoOooOOMMm

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'W')hat about those nuke plants? The McCain Nuke Initiative? Have they started building those yet? How many are completed?

[Twilight]

Perhaps as in the UK, there is no direct comparison between an old and new nuclear power plant due to the greatly increased size of the new ones? It is possible that what has been proposed would allow the US to "stay even".

The grid issue is very real though, and the last thing we need is to scale mass-ownership of mains-charged electric cars into this environment.

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Twilight', 'P')erhaps as in the UK, there is no direct comparison between an old and new nuclear power plant due to the greatly increased size of the new ones? It is possible that what has been proposed would allow the US to "stay even".

[Twilight]

Yes, that does seem to be rather unlikely at the moment.

[TreeFarmer]

I think you are drastically overstating the impact of the "30 year life." That 30 years was a number picked, well 30 years ago, but probably has little current meaning. These plants undergo constant maintenance, like all plants, and many parts of them are very new. Now, might some parts need to be replaced in the future? Of course, but I'm betting many of these plants will run for 60 years, not because they have to but because they are still safe to operate.


TF

[Cloud9]

Pretty much the same way 60 year old airplanes continue to fly.

[skeptik]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lawnchair', ' ')Sadly, the 8 applications already filed include four different reactor types, with others in review. Standardization? Not in this country!